Beacon Street Diary

Job opportunity -- Administrative Assistant

We're in search of a new part-time Administrative Assistant to join us in June. This position covers a variety of tasks including publicity, donor support, event coordination, records management, and more. See the full job description on our website for details and contact information.

Robert Wood collection almost ready

Robert Wood, right, with his husband, Hugh Coulter

John Boyd wrote up a fantastic tribute to Robert Wood yesterday in honor of Rev. Wood's 89th birthday. John and I have been in conversation regularly in the past week or so about the collection of Wood's papers that have been on deposit with us for several years, and about Wood's book, Christ and the Homosexual. These papers have been under access restrictions while his biography remained unpublished. However, Rev. Wood has decided that the time has come to lift that restriction and offer his work to everyone.

As John optimistically wrote, I am going to try to make this collection ready for the public this week. I have a few folders to sort out and the finding guide to polish up. So, do keep an eye on this blog or our website where we will announce its official publication.

-Jessica

People of the Stacks #9 -- Evelyn Vrandenburg

Evelyn Marston Vrandenburg, 1908-2000

Evelyn Marston at UNH

Evelyn Vrandenburg (nee Marston) was born in New Hampshire Lakes District in 1908. She earned a degree from the University of New Hampshire in history and went on to teach high school history in Laconia, New Hampshire. She continued her education with classes at Tufts University in theology and religion and, upon her employment at the library, at Simmons College for classes in cataloging and reference. Mrs. Vrandenburg also taught religious education in public schools in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville. She joined the staff in 1962 as Assistant and Associate Librarian. In 1971 she was promoted to replace Rev. Dwight Cart as head librarian. Mrs. Vradenburg's interest in history served her well while working at the library. She was known as an expert reference librarian. Her retirement from the library marked the end of her professional career. Mrs. Vrandenburg enjoyed another 23 years before dying of heart failure in 2000.

-Sari

Scheduling notice -- Closed on Monday

Our reading room will be closed on Monday in observance of Patriots' Day. All of our online resources will be available as usual, and we will respond to any emails or voicemails when we return on Tuesday.

Good luck to everyone participating in the 116th Boston Marathon.

Detective work

This past Monday we hosted another session of Research 101, where we invite people to come into the library with projects they'd like to work on. I (Peggy) sit down with them individually and then we brainstorm about the best sources and the best methods to follow.

This is enormous fun and so rewarding for me. This time around the projects were so varied and all so interesting: one group came in to research a mysterious split that took place in their church back in the 1880s, and believe it or not we had all the smoking guns they could use — letters, newspaper clippings, you name it! I hope some day they'll tell me what they found.

Another researcher is working on a dissertation about women who went to what were called "female academies" in the early nineteenth century, and went on to the mission field and then to a career in writing. (Think of Kate Wiggins and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.) She was following up on some young women who went to the American Board missions in Turkey — and we have no shortage of that material. It was great watching her face light up as she worked through the pile of books on her desk.

Still others just wanted to know the "basics" of Congregationalism. They had certainly come to the right place, though I warned them that they could end up holding a teacup under Niagara Falls if they weren't careful. Once I get started suggesting books, it can be hard to stop me.

We decided that in their case, the best idea would be to come back to the library next week. We're holding yet another crash-course on the history of Congregationalism, "Growing Deeper Roots". We cover all the basics and more between 10 am and 3 pm, and we even break for lunch. Slots are still open, by the way — please check the website for registration information. And check for the next Research 101 session coming up this summer.

-Peggy

Closed for Good Friday

Our reading room will be closed tomorrow in observance of Good Friday. All of our online resources will be available as usual.

We hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Surprise historical context in our image collection

More often than not, we here at the Congregational Library will find that a project takes an unexpected turn. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of a project being more complicated than originally thought, or taking longer to complete, or finding the items in worse condition than previously anticipated. And sometimes we just end up finding more than we expected. This is one of those times.

A few weeks ago I was handed a framed portrait of staff members from The Congregational House taken in 1903 which was to be added to our image collection. This particular photo was framed, necessitating its removal for scanning and preservation purposes. The right tool, the right leverage, some carefully applied brute strength (and appropriate safety measures), and a few minutes later, the frame was easily dispatched and the wood backing removed.

And that's where things got a little more interesting. Underneath the backing were several sheets of newspaper that had been used as padding when the photo had been framed. While the newspaper isn't the kind of thing that as an archivist I would be inclined to keep, the clippings do provide a unique look into the every-day context in which this photo was taken, and the lives its subjects might have lead. Here, then, is a snapshot from early 1903 when this photo was taken:

On Monday, January 19, 1903, black taffeta could be bought from Jordan Marsh Co. on Avon Street for 55¢; a woman's silk-lined Kersey, Cheviot or Melton coat could be had for $3.69; Mr. Richard Mansfield could be seen starring in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the Colonial Theatre; Yale's basketball team was hoping to win the college championship; and The American Bicycle Company was undergoing reorganization. Frank Norris had just published The Pit (now a part of Penguin's series of Twentieth Century Classics), and the Senate was considering the Cuban reciprocity treaty, a bill on immigration, and the Omnibus Statehood Bill which sought to admit Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico to the Union. The University of Maine had submitted its annual report to the Governor, reporting an enrollment of 480 and the need for new dormitories and new buildings to house both a laboratory and heating plants. Finally, you could have your very own copy of The Boston Herald delivered to you for an annual subscription rate of $6.00.

-Sari

Scheduling reminder -- closed on Monday

The Congregational Library will be closed on Monday, February 20th in observance of Presidents Day.

All of our online resources will be available as usual. If you have questions that you'd like to ask the staff, send an email or leave a voicemail, and we'll get back to you when we return.

People of the Stacks #8 -- Florence K. Babcock

Florence K. Babcock

Florence K. Babcock came to work at the Congregational Library as Assistant Librarian in 1913. She was a graduate of Simmons College, having taken four years of undergraduate library courses. She remained in this position until her retirement in 1958.

While employed at the library for 45 years, Florence participated in several key projects, including a wholesale re-cataloging of the library's holdings and an exhaustive study of library circulation patterns, all while working the front desk and answering reference questions. During her tenure, she also served as president of the Boston-area theological librarians' association. As an Assistant Librarian, little mention is made of her in the records, but the 1952 Report of the Directors and Libraries made to the American Congregational Association did note that "Miss Florence K. Babcock, Assistant Librarian, is most efficient. Her chief work is the cataloging of books. She is expert in finding the answer to puzzling reference questions."

-Sari

People of the Stacks #7 -- Isaac P. Langworthy

Isaac Pendleton Langworthy

"When Dr. Langworthy was elected Librarian at the May Meeting of 1862, he had already been a farmer, teacher, physician, pastor, and denominational secretary." So writes Frederick T. Persons in a retrospective on former Congregational Library librarians. Indeed, Rev. Dr. Isaac Pendleton Langworthy, the Congregational Library's third librarian, can claim many interesting distinctions. He was a graduate of Harvard Medical School, Yale College, and Yale Seminary; a founder of First Congregational Church in Chelsea, Massachusetts and then its pastor for 17 years; and founder and editor of Congregational Quarterly. He became Librarian in 1862 when the Library and Association were located on Chauncy Street, remained in office when the library moved to 40 Winter Street, was still in office when the property on Somerset Street was purchased, and (not content to only be the librarian) was the designer of the first Congregational House's oval reading room.

During his tenure as librarian, Dr. Langworthy undertook the process of weeding out duplicate material, organized books into a rough classification scheme, and began cataloging the collection in earnest (a task which was put into the hands of Assistant Librarian Miss Mary E. Stone). Dr. Langworthy spent much of his time collecting publications and manuscripts for the library, and upon his retirement in 1887, claimed an average annual increase library's holdings of 1,194 volumes during his tenure. He died at the age of 82 in 1888, leaving the Library $10,000 in his will to be spent on "town histories, genealogies and commentaries". The library holds seven items penned by Dr. Langworthy, including two articles which are also available online.

-Sari